Choosing a Post Hole Digger
A post hole digger is a very handy implement to have around your farm or property because it saves hours of hard manual labour digging holes, or if you are installing new fencing it can save you thousands of dollars from having to get a contractor in to do it for you.
Both our standard duty and heavy duty post hole diggers are an economical solution and in most cases, provided you have a tractor with 3 point linkage, will cost you less than a contractor. Plus then you’ve got one for every job you have in the future where you need a hole dug!!
So which post hole digger is right for you? Below are 4 factors that will help you determine which post hole digger is right for you.
- The size of the holes you are trying to dig.
If you are putting up a rural fence with standard 125-150mm treated pine fence poles, build a chicken coop or plant a row of trees then you may only need a 6” – 9” auger. You do not want to dig a hole that is too much bigger than what you need as you’ll just end up spending more on concrete (if you are concreting poles in) or having to spend more time backfilling. Our standard duty post hole digger is great for these kind of jobs (providing the ground is suitable, this is covered in point 4). The standard duty post hole digger can take an auger up to 14″.
On the other hand if you are digging footings for a new shed or doing stabalisation work then you may need a much bigger auger, in which case our heavy duty post hole digger may be more suitable for the job. They can take an auger up to 18”.
2. The size of your tractor.
Our standard duty post hole diggers are suitable for tractors from 18-60hp with category 1 3PL (3 point linkage) and our heavy duty post hole diggers are suitable for tractors from 30-100hp with category 1 or 2 3PL . If you only have a compact or small tractor you are limited to the implements you can use.
3. Does your tractor have hydraulic outlets?
Whilst the heavy duty post hole digger is more robust than the standard duty, it does require a set of hydraulic remotes in order for the ram to provide the extra downforce. If your tractor does not have hydraulics then whilst you can still use the unit you will be unable to use the hydraulic downforce feature.
4. The ground you are trying to dig.
Our standard duty post hole digger is only recommended for ground that is free from rock and hard compacted clay. As there is no ram providing downforce on the arm of the post hole digger, this unit depends on the ground being light enough to be dug without a huge amount of force. Our heavy duty post hole digger has the added driving force of the hydraulic ram which means it has a lot of added downforce when digging, and is able to drive through hard compacted ground.
You can check out our post hole diggers here. If you have any questions please contact us!
